FASHION Magazine

This past summer, theatre-goers came in droves to see Charlize Theron – shaved head, engine oil eyeliner, amputee arm and all – as Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road. Her iconic portrayal of a sex slave-turned-resistance fighter illustrated that audiences are finally ready to see women go to war, with Tom Hardy’s near-silent partner in tow. But […]

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See the photos from the Cronenberg: Evolution opening party »

Spooksville made its way into TIFF Bell Lightbox on Wednesday night for the opening party of Cronenberg: Evolution (November 1-January 19), the exhibit celebrating the city’s most lauded director. The retrospective of David Cronenberg’s 40 years in film opens up a cabinet of curiosities with trippy artifacts, set designs and rare footage from various Cronenberg films including Crash, The Fly, Videodrome and Cosmopolis. My personal favourites: the original “bio-ports” used on Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh in eXistenZ (remember theeeeese?!) and a menacing Mugwump situated at a Naked Lunch bar setting for guests to pose for photos with. One such guest to take the photo opportunity: David Cronenberg himself, who posed alongside TIFF CEO Piers Handling and creative director Noah Cowan, earlier that day.

Go inside the Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style Exhibition »

Fifty years is just enough time to coin some classic cinematic phrases. We all know “shaken not stirred” and “Bond, James Bond,” no matter if you’ve seen one or all 22 (23, now that Skyfall has been released) films, everyone knows something about James Bond. But today in Toronto at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style opens and lets film lovers into the world of Bond.

For us, it’s about the costumes and design sketches. Bond is known for taking a tuxedo and making it timeless yet modernized with every new film. From suits that were worn by Pierce Brosnan to the Tom Ford tailored suit Daniel Craig wore in 2008 in Quantum of Solace, the exhibition shows off how the costuming and tailoring has advanced as time goes on.

As for the Bond Women (we were corrected after calling them Bond Girls), Bronwyn Cosgrave, guest curator of the exhibition sad it best, “They [Bond Women] have always had to epitomize beauty and style and consistently they’ve done that.” And that’s precisely what Designing 007 shows. Instead of making the Bond Women play a supporting role in the exhibit, the women’s costumes are mixed in with all of James’ gear and suits. But let’s be honest, it’s their outfits that really steal the show. The dresses span from an Oscar De La Renta in a classic ODR crimson red to a hooded Alaïa (who’s a totally important designer) that was worn by a super villain, May Day (played by Grace Jones) in A View To Kill. And the added bonus, the Bond Women’s diamonds, which really make the casino looks, are on display to be ogled.

With FASHION’s 35th Anniversary blow-out party behind us and Toronto Fashion Week ahead of us, we’re going to be indulging in a lot of R&R this weekend, with an emphasis on beauty sleep. Take it easy peasy with a trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario, a shopping trip to Monocle and a documentary about […]

The post The Weekend To Do: We’re hitting up Toronto’s new Monocle outpost, catching A$AP Rocky in Vancouver and screening the new Diana Vreeland documentary appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

It’s not every day that you get to play host to a living, breathing masterpiece! The Canadian Art Foundation was lucky enough to showcase Yugoslavian performance artist Marina Abramovic, who was in Toronto for the Canadian premiere of The Artist is Present at the Reel Artists Film Festival. The new documentary film chronicles her prolific and often painful career and follows the preparation for her 2010 retrospective show at the MoMA—she spent more than 700 hours over the course of three months staring into the eyes of museum visitors. Beyond her lifelong love affair with performance art, Abramovic is a designer devotee (having discovered fashion after a particularly nasty breakup); in the film, she’s shown shopping at Givenchy with none other than Riccardo Tisci. It’s no surprise then that the 65-year-old wore head-to-toe Costume National to the premiere, or that she counts Fashion Television’s Jeanne Beker as a fan. At the a swank soiree, held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and bookended by not one but two cocktail parties, we spotted a smattering of guests from Canada’s creative set including Luminato’s Jörn Weisbrodt (who also made an appearance in the film), the Beckerman clan, and gallery owner Daniel Faria.

View the photo gallery »

View exhibit photos »

While Toronto might not have had a stop on the royal visit earlier this summer, we were certainly treated to a princely presence at Wednesday night’s opening of TIFF Bell Lightbox’s ode to the original Hollywood royal, Grace Kelly. Their serene highnesses (and that’s a real salutation) Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco were in town to unveil the exhibit. While Albert addressed the crowd, speaking of things like his late mother’s “constant quest for perfection,” Charlene, in a knee-length ruffled black cocktail dress looked on in the shadows as she, well, tends to do. After a bit of bubbly and breathing royal air, we headed down for a peek of the exhibit, a mix of Kelly’s outfits, accessories, scrapbooks, posters, as well as a the pièce de résistance, a replica of her legendary (and Kate Middleton–referenced) wedding gown. Perhaps the most special though, affectionate correspondence from a one Alfred Hitchcock in which he inquires as to whether insects had infested Kelly’s hair. “Lysol, please.”

By Randi Bergman and Jordan Porter

Who epitomizes old Hollywood style more than Grace Kelly? The silken blonde bob, the pearls, the notorious namesake Kelly bag… we’re still mesmerized by the actress-turned-princess years after her heyday. To celebrate her legacy, TIFF Bell Lightbox is showcasing pieces from Kelly’s wardrobe in the exhibition Grace Kelly: From Movie Star To Princess, opening November 4. They’ll have her iconic pieces on hand, but we’ve rounded up all the essentials you need to look the part of the royal Hollywood star.

Shop the guide now! »

Royalty is coming! Announced this morning, the Monegasque Princely Family will be in Toronto on November 2, 2011, for the grand opening of the TIFF’s Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess exhibit. Kelly’s son, Prince Albert II, and his new wife Princess Charlène will officially open the exhibition, which features many of the former […]

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Word: Dude

Meaning: Slang term for cool guy or cowboy, although meanings have shifted and accumulated over the years.

Usage: “I’m the Dude. So that’s what you call me. That, or His Dudeness… Duder… or El Duderino, if, you know, you’re not into the whole brevity thing.” ― The Dude, in The Big Lebowski

Last Thursday night the Mimran-kissed womenswear line Moon celebrated its first birthday as well as its foray into menswear at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. Surrounded by big yellowy globes (ahem, moons) and more than a few yellowy cocktails, DJ duo Leigh Lezark and Geordon Nicol of the Misshapes spun Rihanna, Robyn, and the like for the crowd of fashion eds, fashion plates, and fashion models who interrupted the soiree for a makeshift showcase of the latest collection. Lezark took her headphones on and off enough times to make believe she was, indeed, there to spin… But her sheer black wrap shirt, leopard skirt (both from Moon’s fall collection), and black leather fold-over heels suggested she was there to be ogled as well. Consider us ogling.

View the photo gallery »

While her peers spend their days hurling cell phones and hawking skincare, original supermodel Christy Turlington travels the globe promoting maternal and child health on behalf of her charity Every Mother Counts. The former face of Versace was in Toronto last week to present her first documentary film, No Woman, No Cry at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. “It’s a labour of love. It took me two years to make it,” says Turlington.

Here’s a TIFF party you don’t need an invite for: Tomorrow, September 12, the TIFF Bell Lightbox is throwing a huge block party to celebrate the grand opening of Toronto’s newest movie house. The ribbon cutting is at noon, but musical festivities happen all day. The line-up includes Fefe Dobson, The Sadies, and, just announced, […]

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